New Zealand batter Martin Guptill recently shared that he still gets plenty of hate E-mails from India for his direct throw to run out none other than MS Dhoni in the 2019 ODI World Cup semi-final. While chasing 240, Team India was reduced to 24/4 and further to 92/6, with Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja resurrecting the innings as well.
However, despite Jadeja’s dismissal for 77, Dhoni’s presence in the middle gave fans hope entering the final two overs as well. With 25 runs needed off 10 deliveries, Dhoni flapped a bouncer from Lockie Ferguson and set off for the second run to retain strike. Guptill ran in from deep square leg and managed a direct hit and caught Dhoni inches short of his ground and sealed India’s fate as well.
Martin Guptill opined on the direct hit in response to a query from Hindustan Times during the ongoing Legends League Cricket. “In other words, the whole of India doesn’t like me. I get plenty of hate mails from there. “It’s one of those things that happened so quickly in the moment,” said Guptill.
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He further added: “All I remember was I saw the ball go up and I then I thought, oh no, it’s coming sort of more towards me. So I put the skates on to get on with that run. I knew there was no chance of a throw at the stumps, but I just tried to have a shot and only had one and a half stumps to aim at and I just got lucky. The stars aligned, and it was a perfect throw.”
However, New Zealand won by 18 runs and reached the final, where they faced a heartbreaking defeat to hosts in England in a Super Over. And, the game was MS Dhoni’s last international game of his illustrious career. The Indian team, however, took revenge for their 2019 defeat by scoring a 70-run win over New Zealand in the semi-final at the 2023 World Cup.
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Meanwhile, Martin Guptill said that he is no longer active in international cricket but shared his desire to continue playing in New Zealand as well. However, he is currently playing for the Urbanisers Hyderabad in the ongoing Legends League Cricket (LLC).
“I’m not an active international cricketer. I haven’t finished cricket in New Zealand yet. But yes, I’m retired. For me, it was always going to be retire after the 23 World Cup and then look to play a few leagues around the world and see the way things transpired back home,” concluded Martin Guptill.
